I worked at Joshua Ellis’ because we all worked there. My mum worked there, my grandma worked there, my granddad worked there before he dies, all my aunties worked there who lived in Ellis’ yard. They all worked there at some point. I were a mender. I mended pieces, they supplied Burberry did Joshua Ellis’, so all the Burberry scarves and jackets were made there. So I used to mend all the holes and pull all the knots out of the cloth. Very time-consuming; you’ve got to have a lot of patience to do that job. My aunty were me boss, my mum were a mender and my other two aunties were menders. My cousins were all menders who worked there.

When I first started working there, when I was 16, we had like what we call a marking machine and it were like a sewing machine with a knob on and you used to turn the knob and it would put the piece number on, like the account number in cotton. That were a really old machine and all of us had worked on that machine. Every single one of us my mum, my grandma, everybody had worked on that machine. It’s like a right of passage.

Really fond memories of the mill. Going to the sandwich shop for everybody; doing the sandwich shop round and keeping the change. About three years I worked there and then I left to have a child. I had my oldest child. Then I left, I stayed off for a while with my daughter and then I went back to work at Safeway in Dewsbury and then I left Safeway and I came here (ASDA).

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Nowthen.org makes available community heritage collections and offers support, networking and guidance. You can explore West Yorkshire through the experiences of the people who live here, add your own story, listen and share memories and view photographs. Access the network area to promote your group and discuss with others. Make use of our resources and accreditation scheme to support your groups activities and projects.

About Nowthen

Nowthen.org makes available community heritage collections and offers support, networking and guidance. You can explore West Yorkshire through the experiences of the people who live here, add your own story, listen and share memories and view photographs. Access the network area to promote your group and discuss with others. Make use of our resources and accreditation scheme to support your groups activities and projects.